PIZZA NIGHTS
White Gates Farm in Tamworth, NH
In small New England towns, entertainment often looks very different from what you find in big cities. There isn't always a wide selection of playgrounds, entertainment centers, or places where families can simply spend an evening together. That's why it's especially interesting to see spaces that become gathering places for the local community.
One of those places is White Gates Farm in Tamworth, New Hampshire.
This small family farm sits on land that the Letarte family purchased back in 1982. What was once a dense pine forest has since been transformed into fields, greenhouses, and pastures overlooking the mountains.
Pizza Night
Several times throughout the summer, the farm hosts Sunset Pizza Nights. A real wood-fired oven operates throughout the evening, turning out fresh pizza while live music plays nearby. People settle at tables on the grass, bring folding chairs and blankets, and stay until sunset.
But it seemed to me that the pizza was more of a reason to bring everyone together than the main event itself.
For the 2026 season, adult admission is $36 and includes six tickets for slices of pizza. Children 12 and under are admitted free and can use the tickets of the adults accompanying them. Additional tickets can be purchased for $5. The evenings usually run from 5 to 8 p.m.
A Place Where Children Meet
In a small town, spaces like this have a special significance. Children don't have to attend an organized activity or wait until school to spend time with other kids. Here, they simply find each other - running across the grass, playing on the swings, meeting new friends, and inventing their own games.
The farm itself becomes one big natural playground.
There are animals nearby, and children can observe them up close. Chickens move around the property in special mobile enclosures, while friendly goats happily approach visitors. Animals are simply part of everyday life here.
And children aren't the only ones socializing. Well-behaved dogs on leashes are welcome at Pizza Night, so by evening, a whole group of four-legged guests gathers on the lawn as well.
It's a rare kind of place where adults, children, and animals can all enjoy the evening together.
Jazz in the Land of Country
Surrounded by farms, old tractors, mountains, and country roads, you might expect to hear country music. But that evening, White Gates Farm sounded very different - there was jazz in the air.
At the piano was Glenway Fripp, joined by saxophonist Claudia Keller.
I first met Glenway completely by chance while I was photographing an urban story. During our conversation, I discovered that he knew a Ukrainian folk melody, and unexpectedly, he played it for me in his own jazz interpretation. Hearing a familiar Ukrainian melody here, in a small New England town, was incredibly touching. We've known each other ever since.
So it was especially nice to see him again - this time behind the piano on a summer evening at White Gates Farm.
Claudia Keller is a singer and multi-instrumentalist who plays saxophone and other wind instruments. She previously performed professionally in the Boston area with jazz, blues, and other musical groups.
Their music became part of the natural rhythm of the farm: pizza baking nearby, children running across the grass, visitors meeting the animals, adults talking around the tables, and the sun slowly sinking behind the trees.
More Than an Event - A Gathering Place
Perhaps that's what I remember most about White Gates Farm.
It doesn't feel like a large organized festival where people come specifically for a scheduled program. It feels more like a big summer backyard where, for a few hours, the whole community comes together.
You can have dinner, listen to music, run into someone you know, or meet someone new. Children find other children. Dogs find other dogs. And then golden hour arrives, the fire glows in the oven, and an ordinary Friday evening unexpectedly becomes one of those small scenes that make up life in New England.
